BT to test broadband only service, without phone, for homes

Posted by admin on April 28, 2016

BT is planning to offer internet-only services without the traditional fixed phone line for homeowners, first on a trial basis. According to the telecoms giant, internet-based communication services are becoming increasingly popular, such as, Skype and Face Time, over the last 10 years. So, BT believes that in time all-internet protocol services will be the norm in UK, say, by 2025. Therefore the provider is planning to put on trial a fibre-based broadband service, without being coupled with the traditional voice service.

The Financial Times reported that BT will make limited trials in a series of small-scale tests during autumn of this year, before opening them to the public in the next year. A spokesperson for BT commented that the service would be using Openreach’s same underlying infrastructure, as it would be needing similar investment to build and maintain, but Openreach would offer service providers, to give their customers, a simpler option (particularly) for those who use their landline only to connect to the internet.

Service providers recently have come under pressure to stop charging for services that homeowners don’t use. Customers need not have to pay for voice call service to their homes, once the shift towards an all -internet protocol service happens. It will help cut costs for customers. Culture Minister Ed Vaizey, while speaking to The Telegraph, said households still pay rental charges for landline connections, even when they actually don’t make calls on fixed line and added that many wanted to get rid of the landline and pay only for broadband.